the selectors did not considerformer Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin anymore and he was excluded from the Indian team for Australia. When the selectors said they would would consider him for the one-day series, the on-tour selectors did not want him.

BCCI secretary Jaywant Lele was quoted by website Rediff but denied saying that the Indian team would be blanked 0-3 by Australia in the Tests.However, the series turned out to be a 0-3 whitewash,

Although V V S Laxman’s magnificent strokeplay scoring 167 at the end of the series impressed, the Indian batting always struggled apart from Sachin Tendulkar who was chosen as Man of the Series. He scored runs despite being the victim of several close umpiring decisions. The Indians also suffered when Tendulkar requested sawdust to be put on the slippery spots behind the wickets which the umpires refused, and Prasad was fined for exuberant wicket celebration of a wicket while McGrath and Ponting’s outbursts were overlooked.

Withdrawal : A D Jadeja’s shoulder injury was assessed in Mumbai and needed an operation which would take at least four weeks to heal. He withdrew on 22 November, to be replaced by H H Kanitkar (Maharashtra) who was at the time leading the India 'A' team in the West Indies.

Laxman and Vijay Bharadwaj were expected to return to India but were retained in the one-day squad

The selectors are to meet in Baroda on January 19, if needed, to re-assess the performance of the Indian team and send re-enforcements if the show is not satisfactory by that stage. India would have played three league matches by then.

Time between selection and departure from India

23 days

(31 October - 22 November)

Travel

The team assembled in Mumbai on 22 November 1999 and flew out the following day. Kanitkar did not fly with the team.

not clear whether Kanitkar flew directly from the West Indies to Australia or returned to Bombay and then flew out the next day.

The Indians arrived in Brisbaneby a Malaysian Airlines flight on 24 November after a six-hour stopover in Kuala Lumpur Prasad hurt his knee when he bumped it on a suitcase at Kuala Lumpur airport en route to Australia. The knee later swelled, necessitating Mongia’s dash from India:Mongia arrived in Adelaide on 8 December.

Kapil Dev opted to have a knee operation during the middle of the tour, putting him out of action.

Reinforcements

Nayan R Mongia

Ba

26

WK

The team amangement requested that Mongia reinforce the team when the only wicket-keeper Prasad’s knee swelled up (after jolting it at the airport)but after the match against Tasmania on 23 December the BCCI called for Mongia to be sent back after the physio Andrew Leipus passed Prasad fully fit.Mongia returned home.

Sadagoppan Ramesh broke his left thumb and was unable to play in the third Test or afterwards.